Work Text:
Evening was approaching. Even though he had been working for the whole day, it didn’t feel as if the stack of paperwork on his desk had decreased. Metal blue eyes were allowed to close for a moment, giving his vision a short rest as a sigh left him. He felt the crease between his eyebrows ease up a little before his eyes opened again to see his half-finished report. Dropping his chin onto his palm with his elbow propped up against the surface of his desk, his fingers brushed against the plaster stuck against his cheek. Carefully, he applied a bit of pressure against the material, feeling the slight sting of the cut he received the previous day. With another sigh, Hijikata gathered up his exhausted concentration before continuing his report.
He wasn’t sure how long he had spent working. He remembered registering that he was out of cigarettes but given his how much he had left to do, he didn’t get much chance to think about it, let alone go out and get some more. So when a familiar voice called out to him from the other side of his room, he was surprised to have even heard it. Or maybe it was specifically because it was her voice, he heard it loud and clear.
“Toushirou-san?” Her voice was always so gentle. “Are you here?”
With a pull of his arms over his head, Hijikata stretched out his tired limbs, groaning at the sensation and sound of his joints popping. He got to his feet only to make a few steps across the room to the place where her voice came from.
Where her voice always came from.
The mirror.
“I’m here.” Hijikata said, sitting down in front of the mirror to see Mitsuba.
On the other side of the hard, reflective surface was a beautiful young woman. She sat with her legs folded neatly underneath her, wearing a lovely kimono. Her attire left Hijikata momentarily speechless.
“Does it look weird?” Mitsuba asked, a light blush decorating her cheeks which made the ravenhead realise that he had probably stared for a little longer than necessary.
“N-No…” He cleared his throat awkwardly before adding, “You look… nice.” And he mentally kicked himself for being unable to come up with any other word for a compliment other than… nice.
But it didn’t seem like Mitsuba minded. She just chuckled lightly behind her hand and both the sound of her laugh and the smile on her face made Hijikata’s heart melt a little.
“So what’s the occasion?” He asked. “You don’t dress up like that every day.”
“The Shinsengumi are having a special dinner tonight, and Kondo-san invited me to join them.” Mitsuba answered with a small smile.
“I see,” Hijikata replied.
There was a short pause. It often happened whenever they mentioned the Shinsengumi. Not because it was a sensitive topic. Not really. Just that, even though the Shinsengumi Mitsuba was referring to was the same as the one Hijikata was vice-commander of… It was also not the same.
Okita Mitsuba was her name. She claimed to be Okita Sougo’s elder sister, but the Sougo Hijikata knew didn’t have a sister.
Whereas the Shinsengumi Mitsuba knew, even though it consisted of the same people Hijikata worked with, there was one distinct difference. There was no Hijikata Toushirou acting as vice-commander.
They both lived in Edo. But the events that take place never corresponded.
It was as if they lived in different worlds.
And they were the only ones able to make contact.
And by contact, it was nothing more than communication through a mirror which didn’t show their own reflection if the other was on the other side.
Physical contact was an impossible wish.
Movement from the other side of the mirror snapped Hijikata out of his thoughts. He watched as Mistuba shuffled closer to the mirror, inching closer towards him, before placing a hand against the reflective surface.
“Did you get hurt?” She asked, worry evident in her eyes.
“Oh, this?” Hijikata said, reaching a hand up to feel the plaster against his cheek. “It’s just a scratch, don’t worry about it.”
But he knew full well that by saying that, she wouldn’t be convinced.
Shuffling closer to the mirror himself, Hijikata placed a hand to where Mitsuba’s was. Every time he did such an action, he would always pray for a miracle where his palm wouldn’t be met with a hard, cold surface. Instead, his hand would reach through and grasp that of the woman he loved.
“Stop worrying.” Hijikata scolded lightly, metal blue eyes never leaving slightly reddish, brown.
“Toushirou-san,” Mitsuba began as she leant slowly forward.
Hijikata did the same. And where their foreheads should have met, they felt the pressure of the mirror’s flat surface instead.
“I wish you were here.”
Blue eyes gazed into hers for a little longer before flickering down to her soft looking lips. He could only ever look. Because feeling them, kissing them was impossible. Nothing could bridge the gap between them. Even though she was right in front of him. They were only a mere few centimetres apart. Yet, the distance never grew any smaller. And they have no choice but to accept that their realities were at least a world apart.
“Idiot,” Hijikata managed to huff out a laugh before dragging his eyes back up to her pretty eyes. “Don’t make yourself depressed before seeing everyone.”
Her eyes displayed a withdrawn sadness and it stung every time Hijikata had to witness it. But she tried for a smile, and he could help but return one.
“You look the best when you’re smiling.”
And perhaps that was what Mitsuba needed to hear as her smile stretched a little bit wider and looked a lot more genuine.
“Thank you, Toushirou-san.” She whispered her words of gratitude in the tiny space between them before pulling away. “I… must be off then,” she announced, although it was obvious that she was reluctant to leave.
Hijikata also pulled away from the mirror, sitting back to watch Mitsuba stand. Straightening out her kimono she looked down at Hijikata who gazed up at her, fully appreciating her outfit.
“You look great,” he offered a smile to accompany those words. “Make sure to enjoy yourself.”
A cute giggle left Mitsuba which caused a flutter in the vice-commander’s chest.
“I wish you a good evening too, Toushirou-san.” She bowed politely before stepping away from the mirror.
Hijikata caught her looking back at the mirror briefly before she stepped out of view and the mirror reverted back to its original purpose of reflecting what was before it.
Being met by his own reflection had never been so disheartening before meeting Mitsuba. Every time he went near the mirror, he would find himself hoping to see the young woman on the other side. And at times where he saw himself, it brought a heavy disappointment. It was ridiculous. But he knew he couldn’t deny his feelings.
Leaning forward once again, Hijikata found himself in nearly the same position as he was when Mitsuba was still on the other side. His forehead met the surface of the mirror and with a quiet breath, and a voice so small he could barely hear it himself, he confessed,
“I wish you were here too.”